Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2018, there will be about 118,000 new cases of breast cancer and about 39,000 deaths from the disease.
What causes nipple discharge?
The most common cause of nipple discharge is benign breast disease (BBD), which is a term used to describe any condition that does not involve breast cancer but can lead to mild or intermittent breast pain or discharge. Other causes of nipple discharge include:
– Mastitis, or inflammation of the mammary gland due to infection by the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus
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– Polyps, or growths on the milk ducts of the mammary gland
– Fibroadenomas, are benign tumors made up of cells from the skin or other parts of the body
– Carcinoma, is any type of cancer that starts in the breast
– Tumors, are abnormal growths made up of cells from the skin or body
– Bacterial infection, is when there is an infection by bacteria. These types of infections can be caused by Staphylococcus aureus or Clostridium spp., both of which are bacteria that live on your skin and cause other types of infections elsewhere in the body.
– Breastfeeding, as has been shown to increase the risk for nipple discharge symptoms in some cases, nipple discharge may be due to its cause.
You can even search online for more information about breast cancer.